The 99th Hunger Games!
by 1Nightstalker1
Summary: This story follows Carmen Galyonn a 13-year-old girl from District 10. She comes from a rich family and only has her name in the bowl twice. Everyone is shocked when she is drawn out and so she heads to the Capitol along with Dallis Lunarine, a 15-year-old boy that comes from a poor family. They both train and follow the usual procedure, before they enter the Hunger Games arena.
1. Chapter 1

Well this is my first fan-fiction I have ever done, so I hope you enjoy and any advice is welcome.

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Hair the colour of mahogany tumbled in curls and waves like the restless ocean down either side of Carmen Galyonn's thin, tanned face. Long, sweeping eyelashes framed her large, innocent black eyes. Her face was regal and angular, almost delicate unlike the worn, tough faces of the other children from District 10.

Her body was slender and gracefully built. Smooth, tanned skin covered wiry muscles. Muscles built from handling strong livestock her entire life. She was an only child, coming from a rich family and at the age of 13 her name was only in the bowl twice. She wasn't worried in the slightest for being picked to compete in The Hunger Games.

With a glance at her circular mirror Carmen straightened the collar of her black blouse, before hurrying down the hall towards the door where her mother and father were waiting.

She smiled at her parents, her left fist clenched at her side. Carmen held out her fist to her mother and opened it. A golden chain thinner then a pencil, but stronger then any rope dropped into her mother's palm.

"What is this?" she asked.

"If I do get picked, I want that as my token," Carmen replied.

If her parents were confused, they hid it well. Her dark haired mother tucked the long chain into her coat pocket.

"You won't get picked anyway," said her father loudly.

Carmen smiled at him, her black eyes were sad though. Then somewhere in the distance a loud bell rang clearly. All across District 10 every single person paused, his or her blood going cold.

"Reaping time," Carmen whispered.

Her father set his mouth and led the way towards the stage in the middle of town, in front of the Justice Building, joining the streams of shuffling, frowning people. Carmen left her parents and stood in line to be registered. Flash backs of the training she had done in the middle of every dark night came back to her as she offered her hand to have blood taken.

She blinked as the spike punctured her skin and the lady at the desk tugged her hand forward and pressed her bloody finger on a bit of card. Carmen stepped towards where all the other 13 year olds were standing and waiting.

She stood near the front, eyeing the two glass bowls full of little squares of paper. She bit her lip nervously as she focused on the bowl on the left hand side of the wooden stage. Two of the bits of paper in there had Carmen Galyonn printed on it in black ink.

Silence fell over the people; only the sound of the restless cows, pigs, sheep and goats could be heard from the fields. Carmen closed her eyes, images of her home, her room, the barn, her secret training room not even her parents knew about, rough dummies made from straw stuffed stacks and spare bits of wood.

She sighed, her eyelids fluttering open as the sound of the double doors being flung open rang over the crowd. Tarliea skipped out of the gloom, how she managed to skip in six-inch pink heels though. Like all the people from the Capitol she was dressed outrageously. Bright orange hair, styled into complicated swirling patterns across her scalp. Neon green lipstick, powdered face, yellow eye shadow.

Her short skirt was made of some shiny red material, which flared out in a rippling ruff at the bottom. Her shirt was made of sky blue, fluffy fabric with elbow length sleeves. An enthusiastic smile was pasted on her face.

"Hello, District 10! Happy 99th Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favour" she cried in that annoying Capitol accent.

All she got was a blank, almost angry silence from the crowd.

"Well… Anyway onto the video!" she sung.

Tarliea raised her head to look at the screen, clasping her hands under her chin, gold painted nails obvious against the blue fluff of her shirt. All of District 10 slowly looked up at the screen, eyes misty and blank as the video played, the same video that played every year. At every Reaping.

Once it was over, Carmen looked back at the stage, mirrored by the rest of the crowd.

"Ladies first," trilled Tarliea.

The bubbly Capitol lady dipped her hand into the glass bowl, golden nails flashing. She dug through the bits of paper, an ecstatic smile on her face. Finally Tarliea plucked a slip of paper out of the hundreds in there.

She seemed to be almost shaking with excitement as she raised the little white square to eye level. Then a tiny pause, complete silence, even the animals weren't making a sound. Tarliea took a quick breath before shouting aloud:

"Carmen Galyonn!"

Carmen froze, a million thoughts racing through her mind. Suddenly an anguished cry came from the back of the crowd. Everyone spun around to see Carmen's mother in hysterical tears, her father was standing just behind her mother in numb shock.

"Well, uh… come on," mumbled Tarliea looking a bit embarrassed.

The mahogany haired girl with those innocent black eyes stumbled forward, barely making it up the stairs onto the old wooden stage. She looked at her parents and tried to smile reassuringly.

"The boys now," gushed Tarliea, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

The Capitol lady trotted over to the second glass bowl, with less stalling this time she withdrew her hand, a piece of paper held tightly between her bony fingers.

"Dallis Lunarine!" she called out.

A solemn looking boy of 15, with short black hair and green eyes, walked up onto the stage. His pale face blank with shock. Dallis stopped next to Carmen and gazed at his parents, then his younger sister. He threw back his shoulders and put a smile on his face, trying to brave for his family.

"Well isn't this just fantastic, now shake hands," Tarliea ordered.

The pale 15-year-old boy numbly held out his large hand and the tanned 13-year-old girl slipped her small hand into his. They shook hands once and then let their arms drop to their sides.

Tarliea grasped both their upper arms and half dragged the pair into the dimness of the Justice Building. Once inside the doors swung shut and four Peacekeepers trudged forward. Two grabbed Carmen's upper arm on each side and pulled her away to a separate room, the same happened to Dallis.

Carmen pressed her face to the window to see if she could see anything out of it, but it looked out onto an empty field. She sighed and turned away. A few minutes later her mother and father burst into the room, a Peacekeeper closed the door behind them.

"Promise me you will try to win," her father whispered urgently.

Carmen nodded silently, tears in her black eyes. Her mother let out a terrified whimper and held out the golden chain. Carmen smiled sadly at her mother and took the strong chain and placed it around her neck, tying the two ends together with two of her own brown hairs.

Her mother tried to smile and then embraced her young, unlucky daughter. Then Carmen hugged her father.

"I'm not as unprepared as you think," she whispered to her parents.

They gazed in wide-eyed silence at their daughter as the Peacekeeper tugged them out of the little room and slammed the door. Carmen turned back to the window, raising her hand to the long chain around her neck. With a small smile she raised her head.

"I'm not as unprepared as you think," she repeated quietly to the empty room.

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So there is the first chapter, hope you liked it. I have already done the first five chapters of this fan-fiction, so I will upload those shortly.


	2. Chapter 2

So this is the second chapter of this Fan-fiction.

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A little while later the Peacekeepers came in to get Carmen. They lead her towards the advanced, silver train that would take her to the Capitol. Dallis was just ahead of her, between another two Peacekeepers. They pushed him into the train and marched away.

Carmen struggled, but the two Peacekeepers were strong and just pushed her into the train after Dallis, sliding the door shut behind her. She whirled around, anger blazing in her coal black eyes, but the Peacekeepers had already turned away.

She sighed and went through a doorway into the dining room of the train. Dallis was already seated at the table, sipping some sort of purple drink out of a crystal cup. Carmen looked around and sat opposite him at the square table.

Suddenly a rather tall, tanned, muscular man, probably in his 20s stepped through into the dining room, just as the train started and moved away from District 10. Carmen and Dallis turned their heads away from the window and looked at the new comer.

"I'm Carlo and I will be your mentor," he greeted them in a gentle voice.

Carmen tilted her chin up, her face expressionless. Dallis looked relieved.

"So how do we survive?" Dallis asked shyly.

The great man laughed.

"Well, first avoid the bloodbath, then get yourself food and water and find shelter, then you can worry about getting a weapon and killing people," Carlo replied.

"So how exactly do we 'avoid the bloodbath'?" she asked.

"Just run away, as fast as you can. Pick up a backpack or anything if you can, but otherwise just get out of there," he instructed.

"How do we get food?" Dallis mumbled.

"You should make sure to learn about plant identification in training, so you know what plants are edible, well gather those and hunt if you can," Carlo nodded wisely.

"And water?' Carmen put in.

"Go downhill, find a stream or lake or river or whatever, so go downhill. Make sure to either put an iodine tablet into it or boil it, just in case," Carlo said, turning to Carmen.

"Shelter?" Dallis asked, getting more confident.

"Somewhere out of the weather and out of sight, don't risk a fire if you don't have to, if you can get enclosed that is better, keeps the heat in," he replied.

Then all three fell silent as the topic of killing people came to everyone's mind. Just then Tarliea hurried in, looking very excited.

"Oh, I just can't wait, you will love the Capitol, and you will get all styled up for the parade and then there are the interviews," she gushed.

Carmen glanced at Dallis and they both smothered laughter. Carlo blinked and mumbled something, before getting up and leaving. Carmen soon followed; she went into her room and fell on the bed. She was surprisingly exhausted and went to sleep almost immediately.

Several hours later Tarliea woke her as they had nearly reached the Capitol. Carmen got up and looked through the closet after brushing her hair. She choose a rather normal, but stylish outfit. She was just finished getting ready when they reached the Capitol.

Carmen smiled to herself before putting on a shy, innocent, sweet face. She was good at acting and so began to act. She blushed as she waved shyly out at the Capitol people. They all went wild as blew a nervous kiss out the window. Tarliea smiled encouragingly at her.

Dallis and Carmen were hurried off the train and into a towering building. A group of eight beauticians appeared. Four bundled Dallis away and the other four claimed Carmen. They spent several hours bathing her, stripping away all unnecessary hair on her body, bathing her again, washing and brushing her hair and doing her nails.

Later Carmen's stylist arrived his name was Hadrian. He had black skin and a shaved head; he was of medium build and would have looked completely normal if his entire body, including face, head, hands and lips weren't tattooed with a red, delicate leaf pattern.

He seemed nice enough, so she smiled back. Hadrian took out a notebook and showed her a picture of the costume he was going to put her in. Carmen pretended to look, but in all honesty she didn't care. Hadrian then hurried away and she just lay there.

He came back carrying an armful of clothes; he dumped them on a stand nearby. Hadrian handed Carmen a pair of cream pants that clung close to her, she pulled them on and glanced down, they were quite flattering.

Next she pulled on a close fitting, white blouse and Hadrian rolled the sleeves up to her elbows. Carmen put on a pair of black knee high, high-heeled boots Hadrian handed her, then a black leather apron like the ones butchers wore in her district, but more beautifully cut and edged with silver.

Finally she had to put on fingerless, black gloves and a thick belt with two knives hanging off it.

"The edges are guarded, so don't try anything," Hadrian said with a wink, showing her the force field by trying to put his finger against the blade.

Carmen nodded silently and stayed still while her forearms and face was painted with intricate red designs to symbolize blood.

"Now you look like a butcher that is about to hit the runway," Hadrian said in a satisfied voice.

Carmen remained silent and followed him out to the chariots, where she got into the District 10 chariot. Dallis helped her up; he was dressed similarly to her. Hadrian and Dallis's stylist nodded to them and they turned, preparing to be shown to all of the Capitol.

The glossy black horses pulled the District 10 chariot out. The colourful crowd cheered, chanting their names. Carmen put on her shy, sweet and innocent act on and waved shyly, blowing a kiss here and there. Peering at the crowd through her long eyelashes.

The chariots drew to a stop in front of the president's podium. A tall, thin man in a black suit, with black hair, a black goatee and red contacts stepped forward.

"Welcome everyone! Happy 99th Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favour!" he cried in a rather terrifying voice.

The crowd cheered.

"This is my first Hunger Games as President, so I think I should introduce myself. I am President Draclin!" he cried in his deadly voice.

"More like President Dracula," Dallis whispered.

Carmen stifled a giggle. The President finished his speech and the chariots drew away back into the building where all the stylist waited.

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Not much really happened in that chapter, but you know we'll get to the exciting stuff.


	3. Chapter 3

And this is the next chapter, so enjoy and any advice is always welcome.

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The moment the two stepped out of the chariot they were whisked away to get ready for the interviews. Hadrian led Carmen back to where the beauticians were. They got her to get undressed then put on a sky blue dress. It came up to just above her knees.

It had a white, silk ribbon around the middle and showed off her petite figure nicely. It sparkled in the light and matched the eye shadow that was being dabbed onto her eyelids. The beauticians coated her lips in a soft pink gloss and did her hair up into an elegant bun with a sparkly ribbon.

"You look beautiful," said Hadrian as he laced up the blue silken slippers that encased her feet.

"Absolutely gorgeous," agreed a beautician with wild red hair.

Carmen blushed and went to wait for her interview. After most of the districts were finished, it was District 10's turn.

"And now we have Carmen Galyonn!" cried the interviewer.

The interviewer's name was Tia Free; she had replaced Caesar a few years ago. Her hair was dyed bright pink and was in elaborate curls down her back. Her make up was all based around bright pink and so were her clothes.

Carmen took a quick breath and put on her act again. She hurried out onto the stage her steps graceful. Tia welcomed her warmly and they both sat down.

"So you are a 13-year-old girl from District 10?" she asked.

"Yes," mumbled Carmen shyly.

"Are you going to try win this?" Tia giggled.

"Well, I'm going to try of course," she replied innocently.

Tia nodded, smiling and so the interview continued. Carmen played her part of being a sweet, young girl who had no chance of winning, but was still going to try. Carmen skipped off the stage and Tarliea led her up to floor 10 in the building where all the tributes stayed.

Carmen had dinner with Dallis, Carlo, Tarliea, Hadrian and Dallis's stylist, and then she went to the bathroom to wash, before going to bed. Before she fell asleep she checked the chain was still safe and strong. The gold coloured metal glinted in the dull light.

Early the next morning Carlo woke Carmen up and gave her the cat suit like clothes she would be wearing for training. Her mentor left and she pulled on the dark blue suit with red stripes.

Carmen went down to breakfast and while she ate she listened to Carlo's advice.

"Don't show anything that you are good at in training, learn some new things, like identifying plants or whatever, just don't show anything, and now go have fun and train!" Carlo laughed.

Carmen gave him a sarcastic look before heading down to the training room. She peeked inside before shuffling over to the plants identification place and began to learn about plants.

Later that day she moved over to the throwing knives, but she wasn't very good so quickly went to practice with daggers. She pretended to stumble over basic fighting moves.

She finished training in the evening and went back up to her room and fell asleep quickly. The next day was similar to the first and she practiced camouflage and archery without much success. The third day she had a look at agility and climbing.

Finally it came to the fourth day, the day where they showed the gamekeepers their strengths. Carmen waited patiently for her turn, when it came she walked in slowly. She began to show the gamekeepers some of her strengths like agility, speed and daggers. However she didn't show them everything.

Later that night, she sat on the plush, lime green couch in front of the television. Carmen began to feel nervous as she looked at the carriers scores, they would be terrifying opponents. The scores crept closer to her district. Then:

"Seven!" squealed Tarliea "oh well done Carmen!"

Carmen smiled shyly, thanked her and then went up to bed. Tomorrow was the games.

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I'm sorry if this wasn't as detailed as you would like, but I was eager to get onto the actual games.


	4. Chapter 4

So this is the last chapter before we get into the actual games.

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Carmen woke at some ungodly hour of the morning and crept downstairs. She sat on the couch, staring out the window thinking of the games ahead. She sat there, arms wrapped around her legs and her chin on her knees.

As the light touched the sky everyone else came down for breakfast. Tarliea was bouncing up and down with excitement, but Carmen and Dallis could barely eat. Finally they got up and went and got dressed into the clothes they would where in the arena.

Carmen had black canvas pants, black boots, a warm dark green shirt and a waterproof black jacket. Her hair was in a simple plait and her face make up free. She checked the chain was still safely in place before going down stairs with Carlo. Dallis had gone some other way.

Carlo had to leave when they reached the hovercraft; Carmen stepped up the ramp and sat down in her seat. She glanced around at all the other tributes they were mostly wide-eyed and tense in their seats as they were strapped in. But the carriers lounged back in their seats.

A lady came around with what looked like a giant syringe. She took each tributes arm and injected something under their skin. Carmen held out her arm for what turned out to be her tracking device.

An hour or so later the hovercraft landed and the tributes were hurried into an underground tunnel. Each person was pushed into a little private room by the Peacekeepers. Carmen lost her balance as she was pushed and stumbled into her room to come face to face with Hadrian.

He caught hold of her and held her upright.

"Thanks," she mumbled, touching the chain again just to make sure.

Hadrian nodded and checked her jacket; just to make everything was secure.

"Got your token?" he asked kindly.

Carmen nodded silently and plucked at the chain, her face was blank but her mind went back to the end of her session with the games keepers. She had showed them her token and asked if it was okay to take it into the games. They had said of course it was okay, every tribute was allowed a token. Carmen had thanked them and left, not letting that sly smile touch her lips until she was well out of sight.

"Well time to get into the tube," Hadrian said sadly. "Try to win."

Carmen glanced fearfully up at him and nodded.

"Of course," she whispered.

Hadrian nodded, then motioned towards the glass tube. Carmen stepped inside, her heart pounding in her chest. The tube slid shut behind her; she whipped around her hands pressed against the glass.

"Good luck!" her stylist called.

Carmen whimpered to herself as the tube began to rise. It rose up and up until she was standing in the tube on top of her podium. Then the glass seemed to melt away and she looked up.

The arena was a mostly covered in dense, head high bush. Excellent shelter she thought, small streams ran through the bush and the occasional tree towered over the shrubs. Carmen tried not to smile; this could work nicely for her.

She bit her lip and glanced around the small clearing. The podiums with tribute's standing on them were placed in a semi-circle in front of the golden cornucopia. Carmen saw Dallis out of the corner of her eye and nodded at him. He didn't notice her though as a metallic ladies voice rang out:

"10!"

Carmen jumped slightly and she saw all the other tributes tensed.

"9!"

She glanced around.

"8!"

She quickly chose which way she wanted to run.

"7!"

She turned slowly to face that way, towards the closest bushes.

"6!"

Carmen checked over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking at her.

"5!"

She tensed, ready to run and dodge.

"4!"

She raised her hand to her chain.

"3!"

She gripped it at a place close to where it was joined with the strands of her hair.

"2!"

She grinned; no one had thought she knew how to use such a simple thing as a deadly weapon.

"1!"

She held it tight, her muscles bunching, preparing to leap and run.

The horn sounded.


	5. Chapter 5

Carmen leapt off the podium; the moment she landed she took off towards the bushes. She pulled her hand down sharply. The hairs holding the chain together broke and fell away. She whirled the chain through the air, the metre long chain vanished a blurry gold smudge.

She slowed the whirling chain as she crashed through the bushes, glancing back over her shoulder. Then a few metres into the bush she found a shallow, hidden hollow and crouched in it.

Within minutes the male tribute from District 7 darted towards her hollow, a backpack on his back, a long, curved dagger in hand and a terrified expression on his face. Carmen waited until he was right in front of her hollow before leaping up in front of him.

The boy jumped and held his dagger out. Carmen was quicker then him and hooked her right leg around his left and jerking it back so he fell to his knees. She took each end of the chain in each hand and looped it around his neck, so it crossed over at the front.

The cannon sounded again and again from the bloodbath victims as Carmen gritted her teeth and pulled hard suddenly on each end of the chain. With a horrible crack the boy fell to the ground, his neck twisted at a funny angle. The cannon sounded again and Carmen whimpered.

She struggled to pull the dead boy's pack off his shoulders, she slung it onto her own pack and with her eyes averted she plucked the dagger from his still warm fingers. Holding the curved dagger in one hand and one end of the chain in another, she stumbled away, tears in her eyes and feeling very ill.

Carmen soon recovered from killing the boy from District 7 and walked on, looking for a good place to hide for the night. Suddenly the cannon went off again, she jumped and ran for a few minutes. She ducked behind a clump of bushes when she heard the laughing of the carriers.

She peeked through the leafy branches and saw them walking away from a dark form lying in the dirt. She waited until they vanished and crept forward to see whom they had killed. She came close enough to see the dead person's face.

Carmen whimpered, tears brimming in her eyes. Then she was violently sick, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and plucked a flower from a nearby bush, and with a shaking hand she placed it on the now still chest. She turned to leave; she took one last glance over her shoulder. Tears pouring down her face as she walked away.

Away from the corpse of Dallis Lunarine.

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This is the last chapter I have written up so far, I will get onto the next one as soon as possible.


	6. Chapter 6

I made this chapter a bit longer, because I think the last three chapters were a bit short.

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Carmen wiped the tears away with her jacket sleeve and moved on. She was careful to go in the opposite direction from the way the Carriers were heading. Finally in the late afternoon she found a comfortable hollow under the leafy branches of a head high shrub.

Carmen carefully checked to see if anyone was around before pulling the backpack off her shoulders and shoving it into the hollow. She crawled in after it, wincing as the branches caught at a loose strand of her hair.

Panting slightly she sat back against the main branches of the bush, ignoring the poking and stabbing of the twigs against her back. Carmen erased all signs of her being there, by smoothing out the rich dirt at the entrance of the hollow and untangling the strands of hair from the branches.

She decided to use the last of the daylight to rummage through the backpack and see what was inside. Carmen unzipped it quickly and began pulling everything out, laying it on the dusty floor of the hollow.

A water canteen filled with water, a length of rope, a small box of iodine tablets, matches, a pack of dried meat, a small knife and a compact sleeping bag. Carmen grinned with pleasure.

"I can survive this," she whispered to herself.

Her face still a picture of delight at the contents of that bag, she packed everything away except for the meat, the water and the sleeping bag. As night fell slowly over the arena, Carmen quickly ate a strip of the dried meat and washed it down with a sip of water.

Carmen glanced around, thinking about how to hide herself better. Her black eyes fell on the sleeping bag, which was a dull black. A smile lighted her face as she packed the water and food back into the dull green backpack.

Carmen lay the sleeping bag out, right at the back of the hollow, out of sight, the black colouring the perfect camouflage under the shadowy foliage. However the backpack would show up easier and might give away my location, Carmen thought.

She took off her black jacket and covered the pack in it, hiding it in the shadows, satisfied Carmen tucked the dagger carefully under the edge of her sleeping bag in easy reach if it was need. She gripped the chain in her hand and crawled into the sleeping bag.

The Capitol's anthem played and Carmen knew the faces of the now dead tributes were being displayed in the sky. She didn't want to look at them, she didn't want to see who had met their end and she didn't want to see Dallis's pale face among the stars.

Within seconds she had fallen asleep.

Carmen woke as the sun filtered through her shelter's branches and touched her face. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked around in confusion. Then she froze, remembering. She was in the Hunger Games arena.

The cannon suddenly sounded again and Carmen snatched up the dagger, every part of her straining to sense anything. Once she was sure that no one was around she ate and drank again, before packing up and pulling her jacket back on.

Carmen was proud of herself for having survived the first day, having not gone hungry or thirsty and for finding the perfect sleeping spot so she could actually get come rest.

She began to wonder what to do next; she should go in search of more tributes to perhaps team up with or to just kill then and there? Or should she just keep moving and wait until there were fewer tributes to worry about?

"I'll just move off for now," she muttered to herself.

So Carmen crawled out of her shelter and strode away between the shrubs, always alert. A few hours of just endless walking lead her to a little copse of trees, she examined on of the leaves.

"Oak," she mumbled.

She heard a stick crack behind her and she whipped around, the gold chain in her right hand, the dagger in her left.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little girl from district 10. I'm surprised you survived this long, well you are not going to survive much longer," cooed a tall, black haired girl.

Carmen's eyes widened as she recognized the female tribute from District 1.

"Where are the rest of your Carrier friends?" Carmen spat.

"Kitty got claws," taunted the Carrier with a wink. "They are back there, I was sent to scout."

Carmen bared her teeth, and then before the tribute could even draw one of the axes hanging at her waist, Carmen whirled the chain through the air and brought it down on the girl's slender hand, hard.

Carmen heard a sharp crack and the girl's face went white and she gasped in pain. Using the moment of hesitation, Carmen stabbed her between the ribs with the curved dagger.

The Carrier's eyes widened, her breath gurgling in her throat.

"How?" she choked, before collapsing at Carmen's feet.

"It's called not mucking around and just getting on with it!" Carmen hissed at the corpse.

The cannon echoed across the arena.

"It looks like Jane found someone!" laughed a male, naming the now dead Carrier.

Carmen glanced around; the group of Carriers were heading her way. They didn't know that Jane was the one that had been killed. Carmen froze, her limbs felt still and heavy. The footsteps were coming closer.

With a small spring, Carmen began climbing the nearest Oak tree. She clambered along the branches like a squirrel, before finding a fork in the top of the tree. Carmen looked down, hoping the Carriers either didn't find their dead companion or they just didn't look up.

Carmen bit her lip, knowing the hovercraft couldn't come and take the body away while she was there. Just then the group of five Carriers came into her view. There were three males, all tall and muscled. The two females were, slender and wiry and they all looked and acted like they were at a fashion show rather then and epic fight to the death.

The sandy haired male stopped dead and a redheaded female actually let out a cry of despair. The others looked like they were in shock.

"Who managed to kill a Carrier?" a blonde female whispered.

"Does it matter? One less for us to kill," snapped the black haired male, taking Jane's weapons and moving away.

The other Carriers nodded in agreement, looted the rest of Jane's stuff and walked away. Carmen let out a small sigh of relief as the blonde female passed underneath her.

Suddenly the blonde stopped.

"Wait a second, I thought I heard something!" she called to the others.

They all turned to face her, Carmen's eyes were wide and she slipped slightly on the branch. A small twig broke away and fell, hitting the blonde on the shoulder. Her head snapped up, malice and hatred in her sky blue eyes.

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This is the last chapter I'm going to do for now, I might do another one later tonight. If you guys have any tips or anything, I would love to hear them.


	7. Chapter 7

Well... I got bored, so I wrote another chapter.

* * *

Carmen let out a quick gasp as the blonde Carrier bared her teeth and pulled out several throwing knives. Carmen glanced at the other Carriers who were all looking up at her and pulling out their own weapons.

"Did you kill Jane!" the black haired male roared, brandishing one of Jane's axes.

Carmen glanced around; there was a bank to her left, with dense bush at the bottom, if only she could get to the next branch…

"We will kill you!" howled the blonde female.

Carmen edged backwards slightly, waiting for the Carriers to make a move. The other male ran to the bottom of the Oak tree and began to scale it, climbing steadily towards Carmen.

She decided she wouldn't have a chance to get to the next branch and would have to fight her way out.

"Oh I see, you Carriers are so pathetic you have to fight just one little girl from District 10 all together, is it to hard on your own?" Carmen taunted, tensing to act quickly.

The blonde hissed and threw one of the knives, Carmen tried to dodge out of the way, but it scraped her shoulder, tearing her clothes. It felt like someone had laid red-hot metal against her skin. She gritted her teeth and tried not to whimper.

The male was climbing ever closer. Carmen lashed out at him with the chain, the end of the chain just reached his cheek leaving an angry red mark across his cheekbone. He stabbed at her with his sword, nicking her hip with the point. It didn't bleed much, but it hurt. Carmen looked left, then right searching for an escape. Suddenly it came to her.

Carmen poked her tongue out at the dark haired male, trying to provoke him. It worked. He swung the heavy axe at the base of the branch in an attempt to cut it down. The branch snapped and began to fall slowly. Carmen leapt at the last minute, landing in front of the red haired female.

This Carrier was carrying a bow and arrow, but no close range weapons.

"You ought to be better prepared!" grunted Carmen as she gripped the female around the wrists and with strength that didn't match her petite size, heaved her round, towards the other Carriers.

The guy carrying the axes had swung with the heavy blades at the exact same moment. The axe sunk deep into the female's side, she cried out in pain and fell thrashing to the ground. Her life was over, killed by her own teammate.

The sandy haired Carrier howled in rage and stabbed the other male through the heart with his sword. The cannon sounded twice. The remaining three Carriers looked around for Carmen, but she was gone.

Carmen crashed wildly through the bush. Her heart racing. After half an hour of running, she began to focus on moving further on and hiding her tracks. At around midday she collapsed under another tree next to a small stream.

Carmen drunk the last of her water and then refilled her canteen, dropping an iodine tablet in with the water. She had a quick bite to eat and then it hit her. She had survived an encounter with the Carriers and survived and three of them died.

"You are not as confident now, are you!" she laughed.

Carmen sat back against the tree, thinking about returning to her hollow. After she had fully rested she did head back to her hollow, carefully avoiding any signs of the other tributes epically the Carriers.

Once Carmen reached her shelter, she checked both her wounds, nether were deep and they were both pretty clean so she just left them promising herself to check them again in the morning. Carmen waited in her hollow until night fell, eating the last of her food.

The Capitol's anthem played and this time, she crawled out from under the bush and watched the sky. An image of the red haired female flashed in the sky. Then the black haired female and male Carriers. Both the District 3 tributes were dead.

Carmen watched and counted; wincing when she saw the tribute from District 7 she had killed. It felt like a fist of iron had gripped her heart when Dallis's face showed in the sky. Then after showing that both District 12 tributes were dead, the show in the sky ended and Carmen crawled back into her shelter.

She camouflaged her backpack again and crawled into her sleeping bag.

"Well," she whispered "fifteen down, nine to go."


	8. Chapter 8

At dawn Carmen woke, she sipped at her water as her stomach growled. She twirled the chain through her fingers, thinking about food.

"I should find food," she said to herself, pulling her jacket on as she crawled out of her hollow.

She pulled her backpack out after herself, stuffing the sleeping bag inside it. Once everything was packed away Carmen swung the pack onto her shoulders and headed off back towards the Cornucopia.

On the fringes of the clearing with the Cornucopia in it, she stopped. Carmen looked everywhere for movement. She saw nothing so focused on the inside of the great, golden structure. She saw a small pile of bags and weapons, the last of what was left.

Carmen sprinted forward, the chain whirring through the air. She paused at the entrance before slipping in. She only then realized how odd it was that all the stuff had been piled up inside the Cornucopia.

"What are you doing!?" growled a deep voice.

Carmen stumbled back as a massive, muscular man of 18, with black skin from District 11 strode forward and suddenly the cannon rang across the arena. The man suddenly ran to the entrance, ignoring Carmen.

"What are you worried about?" she asked.

"My sister is out getting herbs, I'm worried for her," he replied, peering out.

Suddenly a scream rang through the clearing, the tribute from District 11 snatched up a heavy sword in one hand and a double-edged axe in the other. Carmen gripped her dagger and gave the chain a quick twitch.

A pretty girl with dark skin and shiny black hair pelted out of the bushes. She was probably 14 and was obviously the guy's sister. But the remaining three Carriers followed her.

The male tribute charged forward with a bellow and before Carmen knew what she was doing she followed. The sister reached her brother and pulled out a graceful sword and followed him. Carmen lashed out with the chain; it struck the sandy haired Carrier across the chest.

The Carrier staggered back and out of the corner of her eye, Carmen saw the male tribute engage the other male Carrier and his sister take on the blonde. Privately Carmen thought the blonde would win. The sandy haired male stabbed at Carmen and she sidestepped.

The cannon sounded and she glanced to the side, the male Carrier had fallen, his head haven being removed from his shoulders. The District 11 tribute charged at the male Carmen was fighting and together they killed him. The black male knocking his weapons aside and Carmen stabbing him in the abdomen.

Then the cannon sounded twice, both of them swung around. Carmen gasped as she saw the blonde female Carrier standing over the dead body of the tribute. The male roared and charged forward, the Carrier threw a knife and he fell, a blade through his throat.

The cannon rang out again.

Carmen stood there in numb shock for a second. The Carrier snarled and ran forward. Carmen stabbed at her with the dagger, the Carrier dodged and slashed with one of her throwing knives, Carmen whirled the chain in front of her, catching the blade in the whirling metal, knocking it to the ground.

The blonde leapt away.

"You get away this time!" she hissed, and took off.

Carmen sunk, panting to the ground next to the bodies of the two District 11 tributes and the two male Carriers.

"Just three left," whispered Carmen, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

Carmen stood up and went and rummaged through the pile of stuff left in the Cornucopia. She found some more food and took that, along with several other useful items. The cannon boomed loudly again, Carmen looked up.

"Two left now," she hissed.

* * *

Well the end of the games are nearing... Let me know if any of you have any ideas for an exciting Grand Finale.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry this chapter took so long, it took a bit of research and a lot of late night planning to come up with.

* * *

Carmen carefully stowed her food into her backpack and watched from the Cornucopia as a hovercraft came to take the bodies away. Once the hovercraft had flown away again Carmen set off again.

An hour passed and Carmen was still making her way through the bushes when a voice boomed across the arena. Carmen shied into the shadows of a clump of lilac shrubs.

"Hello, my remaining four tributes, tomorrow at dawn, you are all invited to the Cornucopia, for a very welcome surprise! May the odds be ever in your favour!" the voice echoed several times around the arena.

Carmen spat on the ground in disgust; she stood upright again, brushing dust from her eyes. She twisted one of the lilac flowers until it's stem broke. She sniffed the purple flower and then tossed it aside.

She put her hand on the pommel of her dagger and looked around.

"I just want to finish this, no feasts, no fancy finale," Carmen muttered to herself, kicking at a pebble moodily.

Carmen decided to go in a quick search of some more food before night fell. She trudged up a small slope, picking berries as she went and popping them into her mouth. When the dark eyed girl reached the peak of hill and sat cross-legged in a gap between to bramble bushes.

Carmen scanned the surrounding area; the sun beating down on her now tangled and dirtied hair. She peered down between the shrubs, looking for any signs of movement.

She jumped slightly as a bird with shiny black feathers fluttered out of a nearby bush, she watched it go, a small smile on her lips. The sun began to sink closer to the horizon, so Carmen scrambled to her feet and began to jog back to her hollow under the bush.

Carmen stumbled over a loose root and sprawled onto the ground, she was close to her little den so she just rolled into it. She heard footsteps and pressed herself into the shadows.

Carmen lowered her head so she could just peek at the shoes of the person walking by. She started slightly when she saw two pairs of feet scuffing through the dirt. Then it came to her, both the other two tributes were from District 5 so they must be in an alliance.

She frowned angrily to herself and waited silently until they were long gone.

"I hope blondie gets you before I have to," she grumbled, laying her sleeping bag out.

Carmen swallowed a mouthful of sweet, red berries the size of her little fingernail before crawling into the folds of the sleeping bag and falling into a dreamless sleep.

At dawn Carmen sat up slightly, brushing her head against a branch. She flinched away and examined her supply of food; she didn't have as much as she thought.

"God, how stupid are you Carmen?" she muttered angrily to herself.

She had a small breakfast, followed by a gulp of water.

"So what's the feast going to be like this year?" she wondered aloud as she tugged her jacket on.

Carmen swung the pack on and crawled out of her hollow. She heaved herself to her feet and cautiously headed towards the Cornucopia. She kept to the shadows, as she got closer to the shining structure.

Carmen crouched between two bushes on the edge of the clearing, her eyes pinned on the Cornucopia. She saw four bags sitting on a long metal bench. Two had the number 5 printed clearly on the front, the third one had a 4 on it and the last had a 10.

Carmen bit her lip; no one else had claimed his or her bags yet. A pounding of feet made the ground vibrate, ragged breath rasped through the air. Carmen watched the two District 5 tributes sprint out of the brush, snatch up their bags and pelt away.

Carmen watched them go, an angry frown on her lips. Obviously the last Carrier wasn't around. Cautiously she stood up, tensed and took off, towards the little bag on the bench. She didn't notice the other figure sprinting towards the bench too, from the other side.

Carmen skidded to a stop at the bench, she snatched up her bag and was about to turn away when she realized she was face to face with the blonde female Carrier. Carmen tensed, her hand racing to her dagger.

"So what is your name, blondie?" Carmen spat, drawing her dagger.

"Priscilla, what about you little girl?" she hissed, drawing two of her throwing knives.

"Carmen," she replied coldly, slipping the cord of her bag around her wrist and tugging the chain out of her pocket.

Priscilla let out a noise like an angry cat and whipped her hand back, then forward. A flash of silver, then of gold. The knife buried itself up to the hilt in the soft ground. Carmen held her arm steady, letting the chain slow to a stop.

"Faster then I look, huh? Carmen snarled.

Priscilla let out a strange, feral growl and leapt over the bench, Carmen sprinted for the bush. Her legs were shorter then the Carrier's, but Carmen was generally faster, she dove into the midst of the foliage and ran for it.

Priscilla was soon left behind and Carmen fell against a bush with tiny, lime green leaves and panted until her lungs stopped screaming for oxygen. She plucked at the opening of the bag and a piece of paper fell out. Carmen read it quickly:

Well seen, as there are only four of you left, we, the Gamekeepers have decided to make things more interesting. Inside this bag is a little piece of metal with one button on it. If you push the button a special kind of mutt will form in front of you. This is your own, personal mutt. Each mutt is designed just for you and only you can control it. Each mutt is different for each tribute. You can order your mutts to go kill the other tributes mutt or the other tribute or even protect you, should another tribute or their mutt attack you. You just have to think the command with your mind and the mutt will hear and obey. Once you have given your mutt it's command, the only thing that will stop it, is if you order it to stop, it is physically restrained or it is killed. Have fun with your mutt. Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favour.

- The Gamekeepers

Carmen gasped in amazement and pulled out the little hunk of shiny, silver metal. One small, circular red button was placed in the middle. She raised a tanned finger and pushed the button down.


	10. Chapter 10

The ground in front of her seemed to bubble and swirl, Carmen stumbled back. A dark shape rose from the soil, a strange ripping, growling noise echoed in her ears. Then the swirling stopped and a massive, wolf like beast stood in front of her.

It was the size of a large horse; its long silky fur was pitch black, streaked with blood red. It was lean, almost underweight. It's bones stuck out, ribs showing and hollows in front of its hips.

Its head was roughly triangular and very aerodynamic. It had two long, triangular ears that were tipped with black tufts and swept back from its scull. It had a pointed, black, wet nose like a dog and a gaping mouth full of white needle like teeth; its canine fangs were longer then Carmen's entire hand.

Its eyes were narrow and crimson red, with black slit like pupils. The mutts neck was quite long and muscular, a thick, silky red and black mane stuck up out of its long neck and powerful shoulders.

Its legs were very long, narrow, but sturdy, ending in big, black paws tipped with razor sharp, curved claws. Its tail was long and thin, going right down to the ground and a little longer, so the beast had to hold the tufted tip curved up.

Carmen tried to control her breathing as she looked into the mutts red eyes. The beast lowered its head slightly and Carmen flinched as she felt a strange, feral presence in her mind.

She bit her lip and then realized this was how she was meant to control the mutt. She gave the new part in her mind a command to sit. The mutt whined and sunk onto its haunches.

Carmen cautiously reached out a hand and petted the mutt. It didn't move, except to press slightly into her hand. Carmen smiled and then examined the collar around its neck; it was heavy and wide, made of thick black leather. Engraved in silver was the name Ezra.

"Ezra, huh?" said Carmen, petting the mutt again.

Carmen spun around after hearing a cracking noise. A golden-scaled monkey the size of a human, with a long strong tail, sharp claws and long teeth crouched a small distance away.

Carmen swore loudly and prodded the part of Ezra's mind that was in her own, saying to attack and kill. Ezra stood up, his teeth cared and mane bristling. Then the wolf like mutt leapt forward, quicker then the eye could follow.

Ezra lunged as the monkey did, the black and red and gold flashed around each other, growling and snapping. The monkey scraped its claws along the wolfs bony flank, in return Ezra swung around, gripping the monkey's golden leg in its jaws. The monkey screeched and tried to twist away, but Ezra was faster and leapt up, swinging the mutt through the air and smashing its scull against the ground.

Carmen bit her lip, hand clenched on her dagger hilt. Ezra stepped away from the lifeless monkey and watched with fierce eyes as it sunk away into the ground.

"Good job, Ezra," Carmen muttered, stroking the mutt's silky fur.

Ezra growled with pleasure and followed Carmen as she strode away.

"That can't have been the Carrier's mutt, shall we go see if we can hunt down that mutt's owner?" Carmen said to Ezra.

Then Carmen stopped suddenly, she brushed her mind against the part of Ezra's mind that was encased in her scull, ordering the mutt to find that other mutts owner and kill them, unless it was Priscilla.

"Return to me straight away if it is her," Carmen whispered.

Ezra whined and bounded away, Carmen bit her lip and followed the way Ezra had gone. Around half an hour later the cannon boomed, followed by the sound of Ezra's victory howl. Carmen grinned and ran forward until she found Ezra, laughing she wrapped her arms around the mutt's neck.

"Good job," she cooed.

Ezra licked her face and Carmen turned to look at the body of the female tribute from District 5, her face was mangled and still twisted with pain and fear. Carmen winced and turned away, just as the cannon sounded again.

A shrieking sound echoed around the arena, it sounded like the victory screech of an eagle. Carmen looked up and saw the figure of Priscilla standing on the top of a bank in the distance, an eagle mutt, which was as tall as a young child beside her.

Carmen sighed; she hoped the District 5 tribute had won that fight.

"Its just us and the mutts now, blondie," Carmen whispered, her hand resting on Ezra's neck.


	11. Chapter 11

Carmen drew her dagger slowly in her left hand and the golden chain in the other. She gave an experimental swish of the chain and adjusted her grip on the dagger hilt. Carmen licked her lips as she watched Priscilla slid down the bank, the eagle fluttering above her.

Carmen gave Ezra another quick stroke across his silky shoulder, before prodding his mind gently.

"Kill the eagle mutt and don't get killed yourself," she whispered, repeating the command in her head.

Ezra trembled under her fingers before taking off. The Carrier must have given a similar command because the eagle soared up into the air, before twisting and diving towards the racing form of the horse-sized wolf.

Carmen whirled the chain in a circle.

"Come on!" she hissed, her eyes narrowed as Priscilla ran closer.

Her stride was long and sure and graceful.

Carmen shifted slightly, making sure she was perfectly on balance and prepared for the first attack. She glanced sideways and winced as she saw the eagle slash at Ezra's long neck.

Priscilla stopped several strides away.

"Just you an me, Carmen," she sneered the last word.

"Obviously, Priscilla," Carmen sneered back.

The Carrier smiled suddenly and raised one of her throwing knives; Carmen smiled back and whirled the chain through the air faster.

Priscilla threw the knife.

Carmen whipped the chain through the air.

The fight began.

With a sharp clang the chain knocked the blade aside. The blonde woman leapt closer, a curved single-bladed sword whipping out from its sheath at her waist. Carmen sidestepped a slash from the sword and responded with her own stab from the dagger.

Priscilla tried to sidestep like Carmen, but had misjudged her timing. Carmen scored the first hit even if it only was a small prick on the Carrier's forearm. Carmen leapt away, flicking the chain in front of her to keep Priscilla away.

She risked a glance at Ezra. The wolf mutt had put several bite marks into the eagle's wings, legs, tail and belly, but he was covered in a few peak marks across his back and slashes to his neck, shoulders and flank.

Carmen flicked her eyes back to her advancing opponent. They engaged again, Carmen howled in pain as the sword slashed across her thigh. Limping she lashed out with the chain, striking Priscilla across the right shoulder.

The Carrier whimpered and clutched at her shoulder.

"Does that hurt?" Carmen taunted, slashing at the blonde's face with the dagger.

She managed to raise the sword and block the dagger, the blades grinding together. Priscilla bore down on Carmen, using her weight and height. Carmen felt her injured leg beginning to shake; she glanced up at the Carrier's face. Her teeth were gritted in pain.

Carmen started in shock as she remembered Priscilla's own injury; she began to force all her strength to the right. Priscilla trembled as she shoved back, then she gave way, twisting awkwardly to the side.

Carmen swung her chain towards Priscilla's side, aiming to wind the Carrier so she could end it. But Priscilla had regained her balance and was ready. She leapt forward swinging the sword high above her head, Carmen stumbled backwards, trying to deflect the blade.

She missed and the sword's single edge sliced into her side, but jarred against her ribs. Carmen threw back her head and howled in agony. Her vision began to fade into blackness. In the remaining dimness of her sight she saw Priscilla raise her bloody sword in victory.

Carmen lay back on the ground, blood soaking into the soil. She wondered blankly whether she would hear the cannon as she died. A whimper came from nearby; Carmen turned her head slowly and saw Ezra fall to the ground with a loud thud, blood soaking his black fur.

The eagle fell next to the wolf mutt, flopping around, losing blood. Carmen watched as the eagle died and melted away into the ground, but Ezra continued to whimper and twitch, unable to get up or move. Carmen felt her side throb with unbearable pain and the warmth of the blood soak through her clothes.

She watched as Priscilla walked towards Ezra and raised her sword preparing to kill him.

"Oh, no you don't," mumbled Carmen.

Then a fire blazed through her body, giving energy where none remained. Carmen stumbled to her feet, blood still sheeting down from her side. Her legs were wobbly as she limped forward.

"No," she whispered and slid her dagger into Priscilla's ribs, the blade slipped between two of her ribs and lodged in her lungs.

A gurgling gasp came from the Carrier and she slumped to the ground. Carmen fell onto Ezra, her blood mixing with his. His panting in her ears, her rugged breath in his.

The cannon boomed.

"We won, Ezra, we won," Carmen whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

A hovercraft lowered to the ground near Carmen and the wolf mutt. Carmen closed her eyes, her fingers tangled in Ezra's long, thick fur. She felt her life slipping away, the sound of Ezra's heartbeat in her ear began to slow. With the last of her mental strength, Carmen prodded the separate part of her mind.

"Stay alive," she mumbled.

The footsteps of a group of men made the ground shudder, Carmen was barely conscious as they carried her back to the hovercraft.

"Ezra! Come on!" Carmen said as loud as she could, her glazed over eyes fixed on her only friend.

The mutt struggled to its paws and hobbled after Carmen. Carmen smiled slightly, her limp fingers brushed Ezra's mane. She was carried up into the hovercraft and lowered to the floor.

Carmen stared dimly at the ceiling as several people in white clothes tore at her clothes and began smearing lemon-smelling cream on her many injuries.

"Look. After Ezra." Carmen gasped as the mutt flopped to the ground nearby.

Two more people swarmed the mutt, tending its injuries. Carmen closed her eyes again and her mind faded into darkness.

She felt herself falling, down and down. I'm at Death's Door, she thought. The thought failed to alarm here, then she lost all conscious thought.

Carmen groaned, every part of her body ached and bright lights shone through her eyelids. Without even thinking about it, her eyes flicked open. She squinted into the light.

After her eyes had adjusted to the glare, she sat up and looked around. She was in a white room, sitting on a small bed. The only furniture in the room. Carmen brushed her hair out of her eyes and bit her lip.

"Am I dead?" she wondered aloud.

"No, no, of course not," laughed a mans voice.

Carmen flicked her eyes towards the man who had just entered the room.

"Carlo?" she asked.

"Of course, well done Carmen, The Hunger Games champion!" chuckled her mentor.

Carmen smiled and saw Hadrian enter the room behind him. His dark skin shone in the artificial light, showing his red leaf tattoos clearly.

"Hadrian!" Carmen cried, "Did I really win?"

Her stylist nodded, a smile on his face.

"Yes, you really did sweetheart."

Carmen grinned; she was even pleased to see Tarliea prance into the room.

"Oh, well done. That was so exciting, wasn't it?" squealed the Capitol woman.

Carmen nodded slightly and laughed, she had won the Hunger Games!

"Where is Ezra?" she asked suddenly.

"Ezra?" queried Tarliea, looking confused.

"My mutt, from the arena," Carmen explained.

"Oh, I don't know, call him perhaps," Tarliea muttered before leaving.

Carmen instructed the feral part of her mind to come to her. She waited expectantly. Minutes later the thudding of heavy paws and clicking off claws echoed up the corridor outside her room.

Ezra burst through the door, his pink tongue lolling out between his needle teeth.

"Ezra!" Carmen cried, her arms open wide.

The mutt bounded forward and licked her face. Carmen giggled and pushed him away. Carmen looked up at her mentor and stylist.

"So what now?" she asked.


End file.
